Turing on networking features in Linux kernel

The first time I had configured the Linux kernel, I felt there was an inadequacy because it did not have network support and I couldn't use the internet. I turned on the support in the following manner:

1. First I removed the old installation of Linux kernel. On how to remove the old installation see here.
2. Next I started the configuration by running 'make menuconfig'. For details on how to config Linux kernel, see here.
3. When the config window opens up, go to Networking options. Enable TCP/IP networking. Enable 802.1Q/802.lad VLAN Support. Enable ANSI/IEEE 802.2 LLC type 2 support. Enable IEEE Std 802.15 Low Rate Wireless Personal Area Networks Support.
4. Exit the config window.
5. Build and install the kernel. For details look here. 
6. Reboot the system and check the running kernel using 'uname -r'.

These steps solved the internet problem for me. Now I was able to access the wifi options too.